


Behind the Mask

by BrightestSun



Series: Au Yea August [8]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, FTM, Fluffy, Just trying to do that hero thing, Peacock Miraculous, Peacock Sabrina Raincomprix, Stolen Kiss, au yea august, just some trans things, some mild dysphoria
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 21:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15615777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightestSun/pseuds/BrightestSun
Summary: Sabrina's gotten ahold of the peacock Miraculous and is enjoying being Le Paon. Le Paon fights Volpina who has gotten ahold of the fox Miraculous and has started a crime spree.AU Yea August day 8 - Kwami SwapI guess technically this is swapping kwami? didn't manage to finish this story in time unfortunatly but I'm hoping it works well enough as a standalone at least for now.





	Behind the Mask

I think it’s instinctual, that in that moment when something goes wrong that we can’t control. When something really bad happens and there’s no way we can solve it ourselves. That we look around for someone to help us, hoping that someone else has the solution to a problem which is beyond us.

When we stand above a dropped and shattered plate we look, hoping for a father, a friend, to help clear it out so we don’t cut our feet. When we see fire licking across the floor of our apartment we look, hoping to see a fireman or woman, leading you away and solving all of your problems. And of course, when we stand before a masked criminal with impossible powers, robbing a bank, who else do we look to, hoping desperately to spot them out of the corner of our eyes, heroes.

Le Paon was the newest on the superhero scene and still getting used to his powers and role. He still, whenever something bad happened, instinctively looked for someone else to swoop in and help, but he was starting to realize, that the person he kept looking for, the person others kept looking for, it was him.

He jumped from the rooftop, extending his large blue cape and pushing it down like a single massive wingbeat, propelling him forward into the bank. He stood at the center of the floor, quickly assessing the situation, 12 people, no sign of the villain, everyone seemed scared and were on the ground.

He dragged his hands across his cape, drawing three sharp dagger like feathers into each hand, holding them ready between his fingers. “You’ve had your fun Volpina, turn yourself in before someone gets hurt.” He called out, knowing she was somewhere nearby.

He saw strange colors, like strings of shifting hues which floated around the bank. He recognized them as the powers of the trickster, her illusions could be hiding anything, but it was too early to dispel it. He followed the strings, finding them converging behind him.

Le Paon spun on his heel, quickly scattering the feathers like a fan of arrows shooting towards the entrance where Volpina came into view, her concentration broken by having her need to dodge the thrown weapons which now hung like decorations, nailed into the stone wall.

The fox villain grit her teeth with frustration, she dropped her loot sack, beginning to turn invisible again but unable to disappear quickly enough to evade Le Paon’s daggers. “Seems I’ve caught myself a fox” he smiled confidently, holding up three feathers threateningly. 

Volpina blew hair away from her eyes with a disgruntled expression. She sighed, her expression turning into a teasing pout “you’ve come a long way since the first time I beat you, so what are you going to do with me hero?”

The expression made Le Paon shift a little, the flirting undertone in her voice was clear and caught him a little off balance. He swallowed, reminding himself that he was Le Paon, ladies man and confident enough to make Chat Noir look like a scaredycat.

He shot her a serious smile “I’m going to take your Miraculous; you don’t deserve it if you’re going to use it to commit crimes. Don’t worry though, I hear jail is wonderful in the springtime.”

Volpina gasped, a clear blush appearing on her face “You’re going to leave me naked in front of all these people? There are cameras!” she looked at him with pleading, legitimately frightened eyes.

Le Paon wasn’t sure what she meant “no you’ll… just go back to what you were wearing before.”

Volpina looked at him confused and worried, “but… I thought you had to be naked for the transformation to work.”

“Um… no you can just… um…” Le Paon blinked, trying to explain that she had to have misunderstood something. His mind raced as he wondered how he could corner the powerful criminal and take her Miraculous while respecting her boundaries.

He looked at the other bankers, trying to assure them that he wasn’t going to do anything to strip the poor woman, he wasn’t that kind of hero. One of the guys on the floor gave him a ‘oh come on!’ gesture towards Volpina which he felt compelled to shoot down, there was a huge difference between being flirtatious and being lecherous, you had to respect people.

The man kept gesturing insistently towards Volpina and Patrick found himself looking over his shoulder towards her, finding her and the loot gone. His shoulders sank, “of course…”

He looked to the man whom Le Paon now realized had been trying to tell him she was escaping “sorry about that” he smiled, rushing out of the bank to pursue the slippery crook.

He saw numerous Volpina’s running away, disappearing over the rooftops, into alleys, one running back into the bank. He sighed, taking a moment to focus on the strings of illusion once more. He found them converging on a nearby rooftop, focusing on it he could see the outline of the foxy supervillain.

He smirked, taking wind under his cape and using it to propel him towards her. He landed in front of her, swiftly shooting a barrage of feathers towards her. She yelped, barely managing to dodge all of them, once again turning visible “how do you keep doing that!?” she snarled.

He drew three more feathers, holding them up “it’s mostly in the wrist, but figuring out angle is an important part of it” he smirked, effortlessly dodging the clunky weapon that was her flute.

Her eyes narrowed “no, how do you keep finding me!” she said, continuing clumsily to strike at him. She attempted to create clones to confuse him, masking her movements, but it was fairly easy for him to use his cape and his eyes to pierce through to find the real one.

He threw a fan of feathers to cut off her escape “Think it might be a rock-paper-scissors thing, yours is the kwami of trickery and deception, mine’s the kwami of truth and sincerity, your illusions just don’t work well against me.” He walked towards her, eyeing her necklace, allowing himself to hope that he might actually defeat her. “It’s like we’re made for each other” he smirked teasingly.

Volpina smirked back “well that’s annoying. I don’t think I should have told you I’m nude under here, seems you’re trying twice as hard now. Pervert.”

He blushed “that won’t work on me a second time, besides, I’m sure you were lying about that!” at least he was pretty sure, like 60% at least.

She chuckled “maybe, but seeing your reaction maybe I will strip down before transforming next time, that way I can be sure you’ll be going after me for all the wrong reasons.”

His face reddened further, he tried to recompose himself “there… won’t be a next time. Your little game ends here.” He took a deep breath, reaching out to snatch the Miraculous. His hand was blocked by hers as she clutched the amulet in her hand.

She quickly leaned forward and planted her lips against his. Le Paon gasped in surprise, drawing away from her which allowed her to jump away from him, landing on another building. She smacked her ass in a deliberate combination of taunting and sexy. 

“You know, this wouldn’t be as fun if you didn’t keep trying, and failing obviously, to catch me. Maybe you’re just not motivated enough. Tell you what; if you actually catch me I’ll be sure to give you a little… reward.” She licked her lips seductively before jumping away, her teasing giggling echoing behind her which struck Le Paon like a fan of feather-daggers.

He tried giving chase in spite of his embarrassment but it was half hearted at best, she was gone. He dragged a hand against his mouth, he couldn’t believe his first kiss had been stolen like that. The dastardly rogue was taking advantage of his innocence. It was doubly embarrassing because he was supposed to be the most confident hero in Paris! Somehow Volpina just had a way of getting under his skin.

He groaned, realizing that she’d managed to make it so that even if he defeated her, it would still feel a little like she was winning. He desperately hoped she wasn’t actually going to go commando under the suit. His blush returned as he contemplated what to do about it.

He nervously stroked against the hem of his cape, even if she wasn’t going to actually go through with it, she was still going to accuse him of looking. Her teasing smile always made him feel like she’d won, the idea of her getting under his skin even if he defeated her was pretty annoying.

She might even be crafty enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by using how flustered he was to steal back the necklace. He realized she’d probably thought about that too, meaning she could actually be bold enough to go through with it just so she could turn the tables at the last moment.

He sighed, trying to find comfort in the large cape, wrapping it around him and hiding his face, hoping the redness in his face would stop, of course it probably wouldn’t before he stopped the images of Volpina which flashed through his mind, maybe this was another part of her power, instilling pictures into the minds of her victims. He sighed, it seemed unlikely though, he’d just gotten too used to the idea of being a man, it was starting to affect him mentally, he’d just have to find a way to get back into the girl mindset once he was back to being Sabrina, maybe watching old One Direction videos, nostalgic and silly, it might help him quench the idea of the naked fox.

As he tried to calm himself he realized he’d packed himself completely within his large cape. He wondered… He attempted to find a clasp or mechanism where the cape was fastened around his neck but instead of finding one, he discovered that it seemed to open automatically because he was thinking about it.

He stood with the cape inspecting it, it was easily large enough to cover a person. He looked around, finding a potted plant next to him on the roof. He picked up a small rock, putting it on the edge of the urn. He Put his cape back around his shoulders.

“I’ve got you now villain!” he stated triumphantly, dashing forward and grabbing the rock with lightning speed. In a swift motion he grabbed the hem of his cape with his empty hand, throwing it against the plant. He watched satisfied as the cape wrapped around it like a cocoon. 

He clenched his fist victoriously, striking a superman pose “and thus the day was saved by Le Paon!” he chuckled. He paused looking at his cloak, wrapped tightly around its target. He could clearly envision Volpina in there.

“You really got me Le Paon, utter defeat, you’re a real hero” he said in a cartoony voice. “oh you’re too kind” he said normally, responding to himself as Volpina “now, about that reward I promised you.” Le Paon paused, remembering her teasing promise, he wondered what she meant.

Looking at the tightly wrapped cloak he pictured Volpina’s head sticking out, the cloak wrapping around her neck but leaving enough room to see her neckline and shoulder, enough to clearly see that she sat inside it completely naked.

He shook his head, trying to wrest the image from his mind. He grabbed his cape and ripped it away from the naked plant, exposing it to the world. He face palmed, she’d really gotten in his head.

He shook his cape once, instantly and easily cleaning it of any dirt that had gotten on it, superpowers made laundry a lot easier, he mused before returning the cape to rest upon his shoulders.

He stepped up to the edge of the roof, readying himself to head home.  Sabrina needed a cold shower and something straight, straighter than One Direction, though he wasn’t sure what. He was surprised by a woman’s yelling “OMG IT’S LE PAON!” she shrieked happily, pointing up towards him.

It was a girl around his own age with long black hair and glasses, she wore a white skirt and black top, she was quite pretty. She was tugging at the arm of her friend, a blonde who was scrambling to steady her phone for a picture of him, an impossible task as the dark haired one kept shaking her.

He smiled, talking to a pair of cute fans might be just what he needed to calm down and feel more in control. He allowed himself to fall from the roof, extending his cape into a sail and landing gracefully in front of the awestruck girls.

He ran a hand nonchalantly through his hair “afternoon mademoiselles, in need of a handsome hero?” He could feel his confidence surge as the two giggled awkwardly, trying to compose themselves in front of him. He could see why Volpina did it, having this effect on people was exhilarating.

“I just… we um…” the blackhaired girl mumbled, struggling to find the right words, the right syllables even.

Her blonde friend groaned at her “spit it out Madon! He’s a busy superhero! He doesn’t have time for you to be tongue-tied!”

The blackhaired girl gasped offended, blushing heavily “shut up Lien! I just… Give me a minute!” the two locked eyes, sparks practically flying between them. When they looked back at Le Paon they both blushed, mortified at their embarrassing behavior in front of him.

He chuckled “it’s alright, I always have a minute for my fans, especially the cute ones” he winked at them, he could practically see the arrows flying through their hearts. He felt an overwhelming pride as they both shifted nervously.

“We um… we follow your instagram!” the blackhaired one said “it’s like… you’re like the most down to earth hero.” She looked away, brushing her hair behind her ear frantically.

“Ironic considering” he smiled, lifting up his cape and bringing a small gust of air towards them, causing them to giggle. “I think it’s important that Paris knows their heroes, I think I have an obligation to everyone, an obligation to let them know that I care about them, that they can feel safe with me watching them.”

He smiled as he could practically see their breath being taken away. The blonde fidgeted, clearly wanting to ask him for something but was too shy. He gave them a friendly smile, taking the large teardrop shaped pin from his hair and activating it “I know you’re probably busy, but maybe you’d like to take a quick selfie with me?” the blonde almost fell over herself nodding, clearly he’d taken the words out of her mouth.

Le Paon felt a little awkward when the blonde girl pressed herself against his shoulder, her hand on his chest and her knee raised, her thigh resting against his. He had to remind himself that as Le Paon he was somehow completely flat-chested, but having a stranger’s hand there was something he’d probably never get fully used to.

After a couple of pictures he got one which he liked, getting their names and tagging them before winking to them and flying off. His spirit was raised as he landed on his balcony, sneaking inside and destransforming.

Sabrina stretched, Le Paon had been out for a few hours, jumping along rooftops and solving minor scrambles, taking selfies and generally being his usual hero self. Of course Sabrina had to take the toll of the sore muscles and the time that was eaten, taken away from homework and social obligations.

Still, she felt bubbly after a long day of allowing Le Paon to do his thing. She retrieved a carton of grapes, taking them up to her room and allowing Duusu, the peacock kwami, to sink into it like a little wonderland of sweet snacks. She made sure to break off a few before allowing the blue spirit to get at them, knowing how territorial she got once she’d decided they were hers.

The tiny large headed sprite whistled softly as she took a grape, opening her large mouth to accommodate enormous grape, she struggled to chew it, moving it around in her mouth. Before she’d swallowed it, she placed another into her mouth, then another. Sabrina snorted, watching the little bubblehead trying to fit a fourth grape into her tiny head.

Duusu heard Sabrina chuckling at her, causing her to turn her head and smile at her, barely able to close her mouth. Sabrina smiled back, purposefully placing five grapes into her mouth, eating them in front of the tiny creature.

“Rude.” Duusu said in her usual dignified tone, ignoring the three berries which spilled out. She pouted, looking at the delicious orbs around her feet. She shook her head, looking up to Sabrina “You did well today.” She said encouragingly, her soft spoken womanly voice comforting to Sabrina.

Sabrina sighed softly “but Volpina still got away.” She concluded, taking a grape from Duusu’s cluster, ignoring the scowl from the small blue peacock.

“Perhaps, but you got very close. And now you have a plan for how to take her. You’ll do great.” She sat gently floating in the air, swatting at Sabrina’s hand as she went to get another grape.

“Le Paon gets really flustered around her, it would be easier if you didn’t turn me into a boy, makes everything really confusing.” She complained, looking at Le Paon’s instagram feed, the selfie with the two girls had been met with many sweet comments as well as an equal amount of jealous comments, though most kept it relatively clean.

She couldn’t place the feeling exactly, but looking at the picture was affirming and comforting. Le Paon felt like a separate entity, a confident and flirtatious guy who managed to say most of the things she wanted to say sometimes, she felt lucky that she got to be a backseat driver to his hijinks.

The idea of being Le Paon as a woman made her heart sink, his fans would be so confused, and she probably wouldn’t be able to properly act, her weaknesses would shine through.

“I can’t do that.” Duusu assured her “I’ve told you I don’t ‘turn you into a boy’. I don’t influence how you look. I’m the kwami of truth, I simply reflect things how they are, or how they ought to be.”

Sabrina looked into the mirror with a small sigh “and a superhero needs to be strong and confident. That’s why Le Paon takes a form that helps me be that.” She concluded.

Duusu shrugged “sometimes it’s abstract like that. Sometimes it’s a little more literal.” She shot Sabrina a side eye which Sabrina missed, she was caught in her own reflection.

“Do you think anyone would suspect that Le Paon was actually a girl?” she asked, fiddling with the strands of her medium length hair.

Duusu shook her head “definetly not.” She stuffed another grape into her maw.

“Yea you’re probably right…” she continued stroking her hair with a sad, far off look.

“You know, if you wanted to cut your hair shorter then you should just do it. It would look very good.”  The kwami took the three strings that flowed from her head, looking a mix between hair and jewelry, she moved her stubby arm across it, cutting it off. “it’s just hair after all, if you don’t like it-“ she floated up towards Sabrina, the three tufts quickly reforming to their full length “it’ll grow back in no time.” She chuckled sweetly.

Sabrina shook her head “I can’t do that, if I cut my hair everyone’s going to notice and ask me all sorts of questions about it, and they’ll tell me it looks bad, or good or that they liked it better before. I’m not good with attention, you know that. Everyone’s eyes on me, judging me” she shook her head more aggressively “there’s no way.”

Duusu smiled, she needed to consciously stop herself from laughing at her sweet wielder, who could showboat in front of entire crowds as soon as he was wearing a little magical spandex, but couldn’t stand even the tamest compliment without dissecting it endlessly when not wearing it.

Duusu knew that personal truth was something everyone had to take at their own pace.

 


End file.
